Chelsey Saunders, PhD, is a leadership coach, educator, and co-founder of STEEL Advising. She helps high-performing adults, leaders, and organizations move from challenge to insight — and from insight to intentional action.

Grounded in executive functioning, developmental psychology, positive psychology, and leadership development, Chelsey’s work focuses on helping people strengthen focus, regain rhythm, and build sustainable momentum from the inside out. Her approach is both strategic and deeply human: she helps clients clarify what matters, understand what is getting in the way, and design practical systems that support wise decision-making, emotional steadiness, and meaningful growth.

Chelsey specializes in supporting adults at moments of transition, complexity, or expansion — when old strategies no longer fit and a new way forward is needed. She brings a strengths-based, anti-bias, and dignity-centered lens to her work, helping clients feel seen fully, challenged wisely, and developed intentionally. Her coaching integrates rigorous thinking with warmth, reflection, and practical tools for follow-through.

She holds a PhD in Education Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, an M.Phil. from Columbia University, an M.Ed. from Wake Forest University, and a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her expertise includes executive functioning, mindset development, reframing, adult growth, flourishing, and the cultivation of compassionate, high-performing cultures.

Chelsey’s work invites clients to bring the real challenge — the messy, layered, human one — and leave with clearer insight, steadier leadership, and a more intentional next step.